My great grandmother Mary grew up on a farm in Castleblayney, Ireland before deciding to emigrate to America at the age of 18. Her home life in Ireland was hard and caused her and her siblings to leave home and go to both America and New zealand. From stories I have heard, there was nothing Mary valued more than family. Once settled in Queens, New York, she would always host family and no matter who was visiting, she always had a party for them. How much she valued family has been passed down through the generations and continues to resonate in me as well. I have always felt connected to and looked up to my great grandmother, at a young age she left home and traveled to a new country by herself all for the idea of a better life. At the same age she left the family farm, I returned to it. As a graduation present I was able to go to Ireland and visit castleblayney. While there, we visited the school she went to, town square, and the farm. My family is not one that saves many things, and because of this, this trip is when I felt the closest to my great grandmother and family heritage as a whole. Although not a physical object, I will always have the memory of standing in front of our family farm where my great grandmother stood a century before, saying goodbye for a better life.

– Kelly Pagniello

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more